FDA Head Vows To Tackle High Drug Prices And Drugmakers 'Gaming The System'

Written by Sarah Jane Tribble and Liz Szabo | Kaiser Health News

Tuesday, 20 February 2018 18:58

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said he will do everything "within my lane" to combat high drug prices and that he sees drug companies "gaming the system to try to block competition" in a multitude of ways in the marketplace. In a wide-ranging interview with Kaiser Health News on Thursday, Gottlieb also said that he wants to speed up the U.S. approval process for generic and "biosimilar" versions of biologic drugs, which are drugs comprised of living organisms, such as plant or animal cells.

"Where we see things that we can address, we're going to take action," Gottlieb said, adding that he is most bothered when brand-name companies use tactics to block makers of generics and biosimilars from developing drugs.